Nicholls baseball team sweeps opening series with 19-12 win over Pios

The Nicholls baseball team proved to be better at playing in the rain and during cold weather than their northern visitors Sacred Heart of Fairfield, Conn., taking a 19-12 win over the Pioneers on Sunday afternoon to sweep an opening three-game series to begin the 2024 season.

Over the three-day set, the teams endured a daylong rain into night during the season opener on Friday. Saturday night came game-time temperatures of 45 degrees and a biting wind. Sunday afternoon’s temperature at game time was 48 degrees.

Also over the three-game series, Colonel hitters produced 40 runs and pounded out 39 hits, while the Nicholls pitching staff allowed a total of 14 runs (only two over the first two games) while striking out 34 Pioneer hitters.

As the temperatures warmed on a chilly, sunny Sunday afternoon at Ben Meyer Diamond at Ray Didier Field, the outlook of a sweep for the Colonels appeared in doubt for a while when the Pioneers scored sixth runs in the top of the fourth inning for a 7-6 lead.

“I never felt like we were in control of the game,” Nicholls coach Mike Silva said. “We just didn’t throw strikes at a high enough level. I thought we left some plays out there defensively and it got a little sloppy towards the end. That’s what happens in these weekends. Fatigue sets in. You know our guys are better than that. We have a lot of confidence in our pitching staff. I think it was a lot of first-weekend jitters.

“We’ll get better. That’s the bottom line. I think you gotta win games when you don’t play your best. I definitely think that was the case today.”

Nicholls (3-0) produced a run in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game before exploding for eight runs in the sixth inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Nicholls had runners on the corners when Garrett Felix delivered a single over shortstop and a fielding error allowed two runs to score.

With the bases loaded, a sacrifice fly by Narvin Booker Jr. brought in another run. Erick Ordonez belted a three-run home run and Nicholls led 15-9.

Following a pitching change, catcher Jaden Collura hit a solo home run to left field.

“The next AB (at-bat) I wasn’t trying to do too much. Coach said kind of slow it down. The guy (Ordonez) just hit a homer and they came in and did a pitching change. I wasn’t trying to do too much. I got ahead in the count and just put a good swing on it. That was it, it got out of the yard,” Collura said.

The final run of the inning came on an infield hit by Aaron Biediger, one of five hits on the day for the Colonel designated hitter.

“We come out here, we put in all the work in, so the approach is just go up there and hit the ball. It’s been working for us,” said Biediger, who had five hits in six at-bats in the game, scoring two runs and driving in three.

“We took our walks. They made a couple of mistakes, and we took advantage of them. We hit some balls out of the yard. Those are all things that we’re capable of doing. The little things add to the big things. I liked how we ran the bases for the most part. I liked how we executed the short game when we needed to. The guys are playing unselfish baseball offensively and I’m proud of them for that. But you’ve got to do it in all three phases against a really good team and we have some really good teams coming up,” Silva said of the big inning.

Sacred Heart (0-3) added three runs in the top of the seventh inning, and Nicholls two in the bottom half on a two-run homer by Collura to account for the 19-12 final.

“The two-run homer was the same thing. I wasn’t really trying to do too much. That’s kind of when I get out of my comfort zone when I try to do too much and just staying within me because I can hit. These guys know I can hit, so I just got to keep doing what I’ve been doing and put a good swing on it,” said Collura.

Dylan Farley (1-0), the fifth of seven pitchers used by Nicholls, got the win. He pitched one inning, allowing one run and one hit.

Nicholls starter Michael Quevedo allowed four runs on three hits and four walks, while striking out four in 3 2/3 innings.

Dan Rice (0-1), the third of five pitchers used by Sacred Heart took the loss. He allowed six runs on three hits and one walk in 1/3 of an inning.

The top of the Nicholls batting order struck quickly for the Colonels in the final game of the series, producing two runs in the bottom of the first inning.

Parker Coddou led off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a ground-rule double by Alvarez to set up a ground out by Biediger to score Coddou with the first run of the game. A run-scoring single by Felix gave Nicholls a 2-0 lead.

Nicholls added four runs in the second inning.

With runners on second and first, Booker scored on a Kaden Amundson ground out. A run-scoring double by Biediger, a wild pitch, and a run-scoring single by Felix made it 6-0.

After Sacred Heart scored a run in the top of the third, the Pioneers took advantage of a lack of control by Colonel pitchers to produce six runs to give the visitors a 7-6 lead.

A hit batsman and two walks loaded the bases, setting up three-run double by Alex Unger. With two aboard, Tim McGuire belted a three-run homer to put Sacred Heart on top.

The Colonels hit a batter and walked three in the fourth inning that saw Nicholls use three pitchers.

“We’re playing with a six-run lead, and we give them three free passes – a hit batter and two walks,” Silva said. “They get a hit and they run one out of the yard. Really good baseball is contagious, strikes are contagious, and walks are, too.

“Our guys went out there and they were competing. Our kids never quit. I’m proud of their fight. I loved how hard they played. We just need to be a little bit more consistent.”

After Nicholls tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with an unearned run, the Colonels blew things open with their eight-run sixth inning.

Nicholls 5, Sacred Heart 2 (Saturday): Colonel first baseman Edgar Alvarez hit his second home run in as many games to help lead Nicholls to the win.

After the Pioneers (0-2) tied the game with two runs in the top of the fifth inning, Alvarez answered with his home run to center field to give Nicholls a 3-2 edge.

Nicholls (2-0) added two runs in the sixth inning on a run-scoring single by Felix and a bases-loaded walk by Sacred Heart pitcher Michael Boyian issued to Collura, scoring Coddou. Coddou reached base earlier in the inning on a one-out single.

The Colonels opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first inning on a run-scoring single up by the middle by Collura, an added to the lead in the on a leadoff home run by Basiel Williams.

Sacred Heart tied the game in the top of the fifth inning on a two-out double by Ungar.

Jack Nelson started on the mound for Nicholls, allowing two runs in four innings, while walking one with eight strikeouts.

Nico Saltaformaggio (1-0), the second of four pitchers used by the Colonels, got the win, allowing one hit and striking out five in 3 1/3 innings of work.

Owen MacDonnell (0-1), the second of three pitchers used by Sacred Heart, took the loss. In 3 1/3 innings, he allowed four runs on four hits, while striking out four.